SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Melvin sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s just something you deal with,” the Giants manager said Sunday morning, addressing the latest injury to strike his group of position players. “We’re going through it right now. Sometimes it happens in bunches. Seems like that’d the case at this point.”
Before first pitch of their series finale against the Reds, the Giants announced a transaction that is beginning to feel repetitive. Another member of their starting lineup was placed on the injured list with a prospect called up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his place.
On Sunday, it was Michael Conforto who became the sixth San Francisco position player to hit the IL in the past eight days when an MRI revealed a strain in his right hamstring. Patrick Bailey (concussion) and Jung Hoo Lee (foot) only returned to the lineup the past two games, and the Giants are still missing Jorge Soler (shoulder), Nick Ahmed (wrist), Austin Slater (concussion) and Tom Murphy (knee).
Making matters worse, Conforto was one of the few hitters producing for a lineup that has averaged 3.0 runs per game since April 24. Lacing a single in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 5-1 win, Conforto notched his eighth his in his past 16 at-bats, including a pair of homers, three RBIs, three runs scored and three walks.
But as he took a wide turn around first base, Conforto pulled up limp.
It wasn’t long before Luis Matos had been removed from the River Cats’ lineup and was on a flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. The 22-year-old outfielder was officially recalled from Triple-A and activated shortly before first pitch.
“We have some guys doing well in Triple-A and we knew at some point in time these guys would be here,” Melvin said. “There’s a bunch of them here now.”
With a head of bushy hair replacing the cornrows he wore in spring training, Matos arrived in a home clubhouse that had plenty of familiar faces. The final four spots of the Giants’ batting order Sunday were all occupied by players who started the season with Matos in Sacramento.
With Thairo Estrada receiving a day off, the Giants’ double play duo consisted of Casey Schmitt at shortstop and Brett Wisely at second base. Patrick Bailey was given a day at designated hitter, so Blake Sabol slotted in behind the plate. And the star of Saturday’s win, Heliot Ramos, started in left field.
Ramos, 24, is already in his eighth stint in the major leagues but has received consecutive starts only a handful of times and never lasted longer than his 17-day look last August. Without two of their right-handed hitters in Slater and Soler, Ramos is looking at “probably as good of an opportunity he’s had in a while,” Melvin said. “Especially if Michael goes down, there are a couple spots in the outfield.”
Throwing out two runners at second base from right field and making another pair of highlight-reel catches in left field Saturday, Ramos showed the coaching staff a side of himself they weren’t exposed to during spring training. His athleticism sets him apart from a position player group that is the third-oldest in the majors.
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“To go from making two plays in right field with his arm to two plays in left field – the first ball I didn’t think he was going to get to at all and that ended up being a big play – so really getting to see how well he moves around basically for the first time,” Melvin said. “Because in spring training he wasn’t challenged that often.”
Matos, 22, put together a strong spring at the plate but hadn’t translated the results to Triple-A. Whereas Ramos was batting .296 and leading the River Cats with eight home runs, Matos was batting just .218 with a .663 OPS through his first 31 games after posting a 1.004 OPS in 22 Cactus League games.
“He was so good in spring training. Maybe not swinging the bat like he was then,” Melvin said. “But you get to the big leagues and it’s a whole different thing. Obviously a little more inspiring and so forth and we know he has the ability to swing the bat well. We’ll see what kind of opportunity he gets.”
